Posts
Texas Anti-Harassment Legislation Threatens Lawful Online Interaction
UncategorizedTexas Anti-Harassment Legislation Threatens Lawful Online Interaction A new bill introduced in the Texas legislature seeks to criminalize cyber-bullying of children in educational settings. The bill, called “David’s Law” (named after a 16-year-old victim of cyber-bullying who killed himself…
Lego Life App Combats Trolls and Bullies
UncategorizedA new app launched by Lego contains many features that minimize the ability of users to be harassed and bullied. Called Lego Life, the app for iOS and Android (available in App Store and Google Play) allows kids under 13 to create profiles, watch videos, participate in challenges, upload photos of…
GitHub’s “Contributor Covenant” Makes Waves; Curbs Online Abuse
UncategorizedGitHub’s “Contributor Covenant” Makes Waves; Curbs Online Abuse Over a year ago, I wrote about GitHub’s issues with bullying and discrimination, which came to a head when a female developer quit the collaborative coding hub – a victim of gender-based harassment by white male managers and…
Steve Brock discusses Online Safety on the Community Signal Podcast
UncategorizedRecently I was the featured guest on Patrick O’Keefe’s “Community Signal” weekly podcast, where we discussed my career as a community manager for over 25 years (17 of them with many of the same clients and members of the Mzinga moderation team), how to use law enforcement agencies to keep clients…
Use of Encrypted Software Thwarts Anti-Bullying Efforts
UncategorizedUse of Encrypted Software Thwarts Anti-Bullying Efforts What can a cyberbullying victim do when they are told by both police and school officials that there is nothing they can do to help them because the bully’s account is untraceable? A CNN article says that is what 18-year-old Brandy Vela of…
Is the Prevalence of Internet Shaming Causing it to Lose Potency?
UncategorizedIs the Prevalence of Internet Shaming Causing it to Lose Potency? The author of a recent Scientific American article speculates that Internet shaming (personal attacks that go viral) has reached a crescendo and because there is so much of it, the impacts are becoming less severe. To illustrate,…
When It Comes to Bullying, Some Safety Nets Have Gaping Holes
UncategorizedWhen It Comes to Bullying, Some Safety Nets Have Gaping Holes As much as we try to protect kids from the effects of bullying, some still fall through the safety nets we place underneath them. The latest illustration is Bethany Thompson, an 11-year-old cancer survivor from Ohio. At the age of…
25 Percent of Canadians Are Harassed on Social Media
Uncategorized25 Percent of Canadians Are Harassed on Social Media A recent survey by the Angus Reid Public Interest Research Institute found that one-fourth of Canadians are subjected to “unwelcome comments, vicious insults, threats of violence, or worse,” with the bulk of abuse coming from Facebook and Twitter. …
After School, Kids Use “After School” to Cyberbully Each Other Anonymously
UncategorizedAfter School, Kids Use “After School” to Cyberbully Each Other Anonymously When the last bell of the day rings, many high-school-age kids grab their smart phones and launch the After School app, which takes them to a place its developers call, “a positive and safe place to share and connect…
